I just bought a pair of love birds...anyone got any advice or tips?

Question

It was kind of a spur of the moment thing. We walked into Petsmart to buy bunny food and walked out with a pair of love birds. I want to make sure we are doing everything we can to properly care for and love them, so any advice or tips from bird owners is much appreciated!

Answer 1

This is so vague, I could go for PAGES about lovebirds. :)

Okay, firstly, if you separate them, it's not the end of the world. They will not die. That's a stupid myth.

I have some questions for you, though.
- What does their diet consist of?
- How large is their cage? What is their cage made of? How wide is the bar spacing?
- How many toys do they have?
- How many perches do they have? Are they of variety and spaced effectively for hopping about?
- Do they have an avian vet checkup booked for them? I don't care what pet stores say, their vets are getting paid to talk them up so they'll lie. Most pet stores don't know squat about birds anyway and, ugh, don't get me started with large chain stores like Petsmart. ;)
- How old are they?
- What are your intentions with them? For example, breeding (discouraged, discouraged, discouraged), companion animals, decor?
- What other animals are in the home?
- Do you use nonstick cookware?
- Do you burn incense or candles?
- Do you use aerosol sprays, fabric softeners or commercial cleaners all over your house?
- Where is the cage located? Near a door, window, or kitchen?

Okay, now onto the information. Lovebirds are small, hardy birds from Africa that thrive naturally on a diet of vegetation and sometimes insects. They live about 15-25 years and are not sexually dimorphic, meaning you can't tell the sexes apart without DNA testing or if one lays an egg. They are very high pitched and will contact call quite often, but also have lapses of silence through various times of the day. They are generally not talkers, but some may develop whistles that you repeat enough, if they're bonded enough to you to try and learn. Some are very snuggly and touchy feely, others will abhor physical touch, but all birds absolutely adore being the centre of attention. Lovebirds are extremely territorial and will fight to defend their territory, which is their cage and really anything they deem as their own. Be careful when putting your hand into their cage or poking through the bars of the cage, which you shouldn't do anyway, because you'd probably lose a chunk of skin in the process. They're pretty fearless and will approach people or things hundreds of times their size thinking they're invincible. Lovebirds are extremely energetic, and all parrots have very fast, efficient metabolisms, meaning they'll eat constantly throughout the day (meal feeding = doesn't work, they need a 24 hour source of food) and poop every 5 to 20 minutes. Parrots as a whole are a VERY expensive pet to keep. Also, never make quick or sudden movements around birds because it will scare them and they will react by biting, lunging, or becoming afraid of you.

- Diet is extremely important for captive pet birds because we certainly cannot emulate the diet they would have in the wild. The next best thing we can do is offer them what we do have. A diet full of fresh fruits and vegetables is great for supplementing a small (5%) amount of seeds in their diet. If you cannot feed fresh food on a regular basis, which must be removed two hours after offering it so it doesn't go bad, pellets are the next best option. The best brands, hands down, are Harrison's, Roudybush, and Zupreem. Try to avoid the artificially coloured ones because the dyes can do internal damage and dye poops, a good indication of health. If they're eating an all seed diet right now, buy some pellets (or request free samples from the brands' websites; they're more than happy to send them) and slowly try and transition their diet to about 80% pellet, 5% seed, 15% fresh fruits, vegetables, and grains. I would give it a LOT of time because diet is a very tricky thing to master. It took my five lovebirds six months to begin trying pellets, then a year to convert successfully to my above mentioned ratios. Be patient and prepared to spend some money in the process! Be consistent and don't give up! The BIG no-nos of what to feed parrots are: salty, greasy, sugary foods, avocado, tomato leaves, apple seeds, fruit seeds and pits, mushrooms, onions, chocolate, caffeinated items, dairy products (lactose intolerant; tiny, tiny bits are OKAY). I should also say that foods high in water content are basically useless as they carry little nutritional value: things like iceberg lettuce and celery. Romaine lettuce is great, though! Try to go organic to avoid all the risks of pesticides, but otherwise wash very thoroughly. Try cutting the pieces of fresh food in different ways to entice them, or offer them whole. You can also try steaming vegetables and offering them like that.

- Caging is also very important. The bare minimum of cage sizes should be at LEAST twice the size of each bird in the cage, both wings of both birds fully spanned with no overlapping. If their cage does not fit that criteria, please go get a bigger one! A cage that small does not allow for sufficient exercise and birds may be more prone to lethargy, laziness, and obesity if you cannot provide them with enough out of cage time to exercise. You should also be able to fit toys in there and still allow them to stretch. What the cage is made of is important too. You want something that will last the lifetime of the bird, not for a few months. You want strong bars that will not rust, and if the birds run their beaks along the cage bars, they shouldn't be at risk of toxic metal poisoning. The best quality materials are powder coated cage bars or stainless steel. Stainless steel is by far best, but quite expensive so powder coated is the next best thing. :) Bar spacing is very important, too. If the birds have a large enough bar spacing, they may be able to escape or worse yet, they may attempt to escape being their naturally curious selves, and become stuck between the bars. Their head may get caught and a struggle or the fear would stress them out and if left long enough, kill them.

- Did you buy them toys before you left too? Toys are incredibly important to all parrots because they NEED that mental stimulation to stay occupied, to stay sane, and face it. If you lived in a bleak little cage, you'd get bored and neurotic too, wouldn't you? Lovebirds are avid little shredders and adore toys that they can demolish. If you go back to Petsmart, they may carry toys from a line called "Mardi Gras". Those toys are huge hits with my lovebirds because there are many shreddable pieces with wood they can pick and bite at underneath. Very fun! Other toys include acrylic (plastic) toys, wood toys, foraging toys (hiding food inside of toys. you can make your own, too. check out http://www.livejournal.com/community/captiveforaging for ideas), bells, mirrors, plastic chains, whiffle balls, plastic cat balls (be careful with these. I left one of my lovebirds unsupervised with one in her cage and woke up the next morning seeing she had broken up the ball and had the bell stuck on her beak), and so on. Try all sorts of different toys to see what your birds prefer. Try and keep at least three different toys in the cage at once, and rotate them weekly. I like to keep at least ten toys on hand for each bird so they each get something new all the time, never the same thing week after week.

- Perches are equally important. Petsmart probably gave you dowel perches for the cage you bought for them, since all cages do. These perches are fine, but should never be the only kind used. Ergonomic perches aid in preventing arthritis, foot pain, and weak muscles. Find natural wood perches of different widths, lengths, and textures. You can also use cement perches, rope perches, cholla, lava, grapevine, manzanita, etc. All are great types of perches. Get as many as you can, but don't let cement be the only kind you use either or it will aggravate the feet. Avoid sand paper perches for sure, because it cuts and aggravates feet. As long as you have many different types of perches, also so you can rotate them in and out, it will keep their feet muscles working well and even keep their toenails trimmed. Space them out throughout the cage so they can easily hop from one to the other, but being able to fly from on the other is good too. Mix it up to keep them amused.

- Even for the smallest animals, they require vet care. Especially from large chain pet stores, they tend to deny vet care to their animals. You'll need to take your birds to a certified avian vet (find one closest to you here: http://aav.org/vet-lookup ) for a well bird checkup to make sure you actually bought healthy birds. They may be sick from their environment, especially since many pet stores don't quarantine. For future reference, if you ever bring home more birds, they have to be quarantined in separate cages in separate rooms for at least 30 days to let any illness pass through their bodies so they can't spread disease to your other birds. Vet checkups cost about $70 to $80 US, medications can be anywhere from $10 to $500 (I've never had anything hit the hundreds for medications though... it's just a hypothetical number), emergency vets can be $70 for a visit to the thousands for treatment. X rays are about $150, I can say that for sure. Birds are very good at hiding illness and should be taken to an avian vet at least once a year for well bird checks to make sure all is well. You should know the signs of sickness in birds so you know when to call a vet just in case. These include puffiness, sitting on the bottom of the cage, lethargy, trouble keeping eyes open, wings dropped, tail bobbing, wheezing, nasal or eye discharge, vent becoming dirty from droppings, loss of appetite, weight loss.

- Just so you know, lovebirds begin sexual maturity around 6 to 8 months. It's better to know the age of your birds so you know how to treat them. You should be able to avoid mating triggers that will cause them to want to mate, because breeding is VERY stressful on both birds and you. Limit daylight, so no more than 12 hours of daylight. Cover the cage or keep it in a dark, silent room for a minimum of 12 hours. Monitor food so that they eat no more than they can until you refill the food the next time. Don't starve them, but don't give them so much that it may suggest there would be enough to feed babies. If they allow you to pet them, don't pet anywhere but the head or they'll feel stimulated in the way a mate would. Don't give any nesting areas, nooks, crannies, etc. they could see as a nest. Don't give any nesting materials they could collect. If they have newspaper at the bottom of the cage that they seem to be collecting, put a grate down so they can't access it. Change their cage around often so they're constantly getting mental stimulation, and this also means a changing, unstable environment is bad for hatchlings because it is dangerous. Also, after sexual maturity, lovebirds become very territorial because they will guard their 'nest'/cage. Be aware of this in terms of taming and watch your actions around them.

- Companion birds are best for all parrots. Parrots who are breeding are very exhausted and require extra care to make sure nutrient levels are maintained, and responsible breeders pour more money into caring for parent and baby birds by buying foods, hand feeding supplies, cages, toys, perches, etc. for all the new additions than they receive from selling them. Birds for decor are a bit different. Some people get birds because they "match the furniture" or something, and neglect them. That is totally wrong, and I can already tell you're sort of leaning towards companion birds, which is great! Decor birds are fine, too, as long as they're happy and well cared for.

- Other animals make a difference. You need to be very careful with the way your animals interact. For example, I know someone who has rats as well as birds. A bird landed on the rat cage, rat bit a toe off, the entire foot had to be amputated. He's still a happy bird, but it definitely could have been avoided. Also, parrots have hooked beaks and very strong jaws, so they can easily pierce skin, cause pain, infection, and well... a hole or tear. If you have cats, one scrape from a cat's tooth, saliva, or claw will kill the birds. I would only allow birds out of the cage freely if other animals were locked securely in their cages or in separate rooms.

- Nonstick cookware, scented candles, aerosol sprays, commercial cleaners, fabric softeners, and all the like kill birds. Nonstick cookware, when overheated, kills birds horribly by filling lungs with fluid and they die within 20 minutes very painfully. The same applies to the above mentioned. Paint for walls and for arts are equally as bad, and birds require good ventilation and should be removed from areas with all those items.

- Where you keep your birds is important. They should be kept in a well socialized area where people in the household spend lots of time and walk by a lot. They should, however, never be kept near the kitchen, doors, or windows. Kitchen fumes can kill, doors and windows can have drafts of fluctuating temperature that can make the birds ill and die. The area they're in should be fairly spacious that allows for good ventilation, and birds will not do well if they're breathing recirculated air. Open the windows as often as you can so they get some fresh air flowing about. Of course, don't let them escape. They can and will chew screens. They shouldn't ever be kept in a place of direct sunlight, but they should have access to indirect sunlight as well as an area of shade in the cage.

I think I've said enough for this answer. I've given you some pretty general and basic information, but there's still the milestone of taming. Give the birds some time to adjust to their new surroundings, maybe a week or two, before trying to tame them. If you have any questions about taming, I can answer those if you just give me a shout. :) Hope that helps.

Edit to add: Parrots do NOT require grit and if it does anything, it causes crop impaction that can kill them! Grit is not required for 100% digestible diets, which parrots eat.

I also apologize for my insanely long response. lol...

Answer 2

Make sure the cage door is secure because they are quite smart and will either open the door or learn to escape where the food dishes are.
Lovebirds are comical and are great at entertaining themselves as long as interesting toys are at hand. Lovebirds are loud and many people, especially men for some reason, end up returning them.
Putting a nest box in the cage is not advisable, as they are very prolific, will bond to each other instead of you. If the birds are tame now, be sure to pet them on a regular basis or you may be in for nasty biting later.

Answer 3

Keeping a pair of lovebirds will require a bit more work on your part, but the birds can be companions for each other.
And also...a pair of lovebirds will spend a great deal of time together , usually just watching the activity that is going around them. But in general, lovebirds are hardy, adaptable birds and can be quite content whether housed in a roomy cage or a large aviary. Lovebirds are active birds, so it is important that they be provided with adequate exercise space. Thus of the other essiential diet belonging to lovebirds, comes along with items such as grit and cuttlefish bone of important sources of essential minerals. Additionally, grit also serves to assist with digestion of food.

Hope this helps!

Answer 4

Dont put any other birds in with them, lovebirds are the most vicious small parrots around. I put some in with finches and other parrots once and they bit the legs off about 5 of the finches.

Answer 5

you can find a LOT of information on the care of lovebirds on the internet. Go to a search engine like google or ask.com and type in care of lovebirds and other searches like that and I'm sure that you will find al the information that you need and much more!

Answer 6

Get used to lots of nips.

Answer 7

First you put them in a pot with some vegetables and boil them...THEN you put them in a pan with some butter and fry them...THEN you put them on a plate with some salt and pepper and EAT THEM! No really...I used to buy spontaneous birds all the time. Then I would end up letting them go. They are such a pain and they smell.

Answer 8

dont seperat them if one dis the other one dies